Sunday Jan 19, 2014

Intelligent is not Smart

Earth Day Redux

The other night I heard a radio interview with Dan Hurley, a journalist who wrote Smarter, a book about getting smarter. He brought up many good issues and insights. But, he used intelligent and smart interchangeably, which is something I’d like to clear up.

Years ago the word genius would come up between my Zen master art teacher and me. He said: “Genius is dedication.” So, we put that notion to bed.

From my book, An Artist Empowered:

“While intelligent and smart arent mutually exclusive, the two dont inevitably dwell together. While smart presupposes intelligent, a person can be intelligent without necessarily being smart. When put to the test, you will discover this assessment isnt only accurate, it is liberating.

“What is smart? And, please, leave out all that highfalutin academic stuff. Smart is how you process information differently from others in the mainstream. Smart is how you see opportunity when others see through the eyes of the socially conditioned. Smart is a direct function of intuition that is expressed through awareness moment by moment.”

Another barometer: You can easily forget an intelligent remark, but not a smart one.

Unique art flows from smart, not conceptualizing or thinking about it, which is in the realm of intelligent.